-
Programme for the 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Pharmacy
The final conference programme is now available for this meeting to be held in Osnabruck from February 22nd to 23rd 2010.
-
Bioavailability based standards for metals are practical and accessible tools for regulators and stakeholders
The Environment Agency recently published a report by Graham, Bruce Brown and me on the use of biotic ligand models to help implement environmental quality standards for copper and zinc under the Water Framework Directive. The Biotic Ligand Model (BLM) is a predictive tool that allows site-specific estimates of aquatic toxicity to be made based on the concentration of metal and the prevailing water chemistry (such as its pH or the concentrations of specific dissolved ions or dissolved organic matter). In essence, it models a metal’s bioavailability.
-
Thresholds of Toxicological Concern for Endocrine Active Substances in the Aquatic Environment
A forthcoming paper by Mel, me and several other colleagues in January’s issue of the SETAC journal Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management looks at use of the threshold of toxicological concern. The threshold of toxicological concern (TTC) concept proposes that an exposure threshold value can be derived for chemicals, below which no significant risk to human health or the environment is expected. This concept goes further than setting acceptable exposure levels for individual chemicals, because it attempts to set a de minimis value for chemicals, including those of unknown toxicity, by taking the chemical’s structure or mode of action (MOA) into consideration.
-
How to identify an endocrine disrupting compound
Although several pieces of legislation have set out stricter criteria for the approval or authorisation of chemicals with endocrine disrupting properties, the fundamental scientific criteria that are necessary to define such properties have not been described in detail. This has left those responsible for both registering and authorising chemicals, particularly plant protection products, with a significant information gap.
-
wca environment further enhance their capability in contaminated land and waste recycling
wca environment have further enhanced their capabilities in the risk assessment of contaminated land and waste recycling with the recruitment of Ed Stutt (previously with SLR Consulting) and Paul Whitehead (previously with Castrol Industrial Lubricants).
-
Derivation and Use of Environmental Quality and Human Health Standards for Chemical Substances in Water and Soil
A book on Environmental Quality Standards, edited by Graham, Dawn and me has just been published by CRC Press. Chemical standards are widely used to protect the environment and human health from substances released by human activity. Generally speaking, standards relate to doses or concentrations in the environment for specific chemicals, below which unacceptable effects are not expected to occur.
-
Beyond Regulation: Risk Pricing & Responsible Innovation
The key problem is that the risks associated with new innovations are often not immediately apparent and the conventional regulatory procedures are evidence driven and thus relatively slow to react.
-
Evidence that population level chemical impacts can sometimes be reversed
Society is right to be very concerned when chemical use leads to deleterious environmental effects, particularly where the impact is on a whole population as opposed to a few individuals. There is, however, a tendency to assume that all such impacts represent irreversible damage caused to the environment by human exploitation.
-
Announcing the 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Pharmacy
Following the success of the first conference in 2008, a second event with the theme “Incentives and Perspectives” has now been announced. The conference will take place in Osnabruck from 22-23 February 2010.
-
UK develops nanotechnology strategy
The UK government has started a wide ranging debate on its strategy for nanotechnologies. The aim of this is that the strategy will show a vision of the future that we all want and set out the ways in which the UK intends to achieve this. This blog details our response to this consultation based on our recent experience with REACH.
- Home
- Our services
- Our people
- Why choose us
- News & blogs
- Contact
- Models and downloads
-
Latest posts from the wca environment blog
- Strategies for Sustainability
- Quantitative risk assessment for contaminated land
- wca environment support Movember
